The tone was “constructive” at the US-China leaders’ summit but the two powers remain at odds on key issues – and that will not change unless Washington changes its approach, a former American diplomat said.
David Firestein, inaugural president and CEO of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, said American policy must be grounded on a better understanding of China.
And he said Washington needed “smarter policies that work better for the American people”.
In a speech at the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong on Wednesday, Firestein said the fundamentals of the relationship would not change because of “profound and irreconcilable differences of view” on issues ranging from Taiwan and the South China Sea to human rights.
“It’s just not going to happen,” Firestein said. “It doesn’t matter how many presidential summits we have, or who’s in the White House, or who the leader of China is at some point in the future.”
As a diplomat, Firestein worked across four US administrations from 1992 to 2010 with a focus on Washington-Beijing relations.
